Effect of physicochemical conditions on phenol degradation by <i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i>: A focus on phenol catabolic enzymes

Abstract

The present study was aimed to investigate phenol catabolic activity and phenol tolerance ability of lysine producing bacterium, <i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i> ATCC 13032. The results revealed that phenol inhibited the growth rate of bacteria (< 20%) at a concentration of >1500 ppm, indicating the toxicity of phenol to bacterial cells at higher concentrations. The maximum (> 95%) growth rate was observed at 200 ppm during a period of 24 h. In the present study, optimal conditions were standardized at different concentrations of phenol to know the phenol catabolism and phenol tolerance of <i>C. glutamicum</i>. Further, an attempt was also made to know the effect of yeast extract on phenol degradation by <i>C</i>. <i>glutamicum</i>. The results also demonstrated that increase in the yeast extract enhanced phenol (300 ppm) degradation efficiency of <i>C. glutamicum</i>, which reflects the phenol tolerance of bacteria. Thus, in-depth optimization studies on metabolic and molecular aspects may contribute to understand the potentiality of C. <i>glutamicum</i> in the biodegradation of phenol in large scale bio-remediation processes.